Trust and Family
by LadyAyumi
Summary: After a fight with Kagome and the gang that causes Inuyasha to leave, an old friend of his childhood comes along. What happens next? (I do not own any of the Inuyasha Characters)
1. Prolouge

Prologue

Little Inuyasha sat alone in the forest, sobbing of his mother's death a few days ago. Why was he alone? He didn't know. Why did everyone hate him? He was a hanyou, a half-breed. He remembered, his mother cries when the villagers called him that. She told him to be strong and be proud of the blood flowing through his veins. But still, she cried because of him. It was his fault. It was always his fault. She died while protecting him. A worthless little Half-breed. The sound of a snapping twig brought his attention back. Inuyasha swirled around. A young girl stood there. She had long brown hair and wore a battered green kimono that barely covered her. She had scars all over her. Some fresh and some old ones. But what caught his attention was, that she had to ears on her head. Just like him... Like she could read his mind she said

"You're like me..." They mustered each other more closely. The look in the girl's eyes was that of mistrust, fear, hurt, confusion and curiosity. Inuyasha didn't know what to do. A part of him screamed at him to run away from her. That it was a trick. But she seemed so sad and lonely. She came closer. Sniffing the air carefully before finally asking

"Who're you?" Inuyasha looked puzzled for a moment. Never wanted anyone know his name let alone come near him.

"Inuyasha" He said looking expectantly at her. She relaxed a bit before replying.

"My name's Ayumi." Then she smiled. Not an evil smile but rarer a soft and caring one.

"Where are your parents." Inuyasha's ears dropped slightly.

"I see. I don't have anyone either..."

Suddenly he broke down to the forest floor and began crying again. He didn't hear Ayumi come closer so his head jerked up when he felt her hugging him.

"My mother was killed a few years ago. I know how you feel. If you want, we can stay together. I will protect you..." Never before had he felt safe in the arms of another but his mother. Inuyasha couldn't help himself and hugged her back, crying into her shoulder...

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Well... what do you think? My first Story and I try to continue it when I have the time.

I'm open for suggestions for improvement.

Thank you!


	2. Chapter 1

Chapter 1 – The Fight

Inuyasha's eyes flew open. When did he fall asleep? He looked down from the tree he was in to see the rest of the group awake and ready to go. Kagome looked up and greeted him with a warm smile.

"Since when do you sleep over? Normally you're the first one to wake..."

"Keh, I wasn't asleep at all."

"Sure..."

Inuyasha jumped down from his branch and they continued back home. Naraku didn't make a move for two weeks and the shard hunters just traveled around slaying demons and went after hints for jewel shards. Little did they know that their daily routine was about to end soon.

Back in Kaede's village

"Where's Kagome? Did she leave without even saying goodbye to me?" Shippo wailed loudly.

"Well... You weren't there when she left." Miroku commented. However, outside the hut Inuyasha had heard the conversation.

_'Damn that wench! She can't go home when there are jewel shards to be found!' _he thought angryly. Inuyasha jumped down from the roof and made his way to the well.

_'Okay, no sign of him yet. That's good. As long as the others don't tell him, I'll be home without a problem.' _Kagome thought. But luck wasn't on her side. At that moment Inuyasha decided to land in her path.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"What does it look like? I'm going home! And don't you dare to stop me this time or to come after me again, Inuyasha!"

"But what about the jewel shards? They're more important than your stupid tests!"

"Sit boy, Sit! What do you know? You're just a stupid dog in a stupid era and those stupid tests are very important to me you mutt! Now stay here until I come back!"

At those words Inuyasha's eyes widened.

Was this really what Kagome thought about him? Was he really just a stupid mutt for her? Slowly he pushed himself off the ground to see her jumping into the well. He could not see her face. Inuyasha stood up and walked into the forest. After some time he found himself in front of the god tree. He didn't know why, but for some reason Inuyasha felt save here. Even before he was pinned to the tree. Fifty years ago, he and Kikyo would sit here together. He jumped up into the branches and thought about everything that had happened.

Meanwhile

Sango, Miroku and Shippo sat around the fireplace in Kaede's hut. Weapons in the corner.

"I wonder where Inuyasha is. Haven't seen him since Kagome left..." Miroku said thoughtfully.

"You shouldn't worry about him. He's probably just sulking like ever time Kagome leaves for her era. *Sigh* ...When will he understand to let her go."

"Probably..." _'But why is that I have a really bad feeling?' _Miroku thought.

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The next day Inuyasha still sat on the same spot in his tree. Kagome didn't come back and there was no sign of the other nearby. Even Shippo, who usually came to him and annoyed him about bringing Kagome back because it was _his _fault that she went back home, didn't show his face. Should he go back to the village and look if everything was okay? No. They would probably just start about he _mistreated _Kaome. Every fight they had. The group would always taker her side. Even if they knew she was wrong they would still side with without ever looking back when he was rammed face first into the ground. Did they even know how painful it was for him? Every time she used that damn rosary it was more painful than before. They treated him like a dog... Could they not see that he was human? He wasn't a monster! Is it because he is a hanouy? No, that can not be the reason, can it?

_'Well, I still should go back. The others will wonder where I am...' _Inuyasha thought. He jumped down and started walking towards the village. At the outskirts of the forest he couldn't help but feeling watched. Inuyasha sniffed the air. Nothing. He tried to hear something unusual. But again, nothing.

_'Maybe just my imagination...' _He continued his way back. And as soon as he reached the village, the feeling vanished... Relieved Inuyasha stepped into the hut... only to be greeted with glares.

He tried to ignore it. But luck wasn't on his side. After a few minutes, he snapped.

"What?! You want to say something?" Sango was the first to answer.

"You know... you should really stop hurting or annoying her."

_'And there it goes again. I really shouldn't have come back...'_

"Where were you last night? You went to see Kikyo, didn't you?" Shippo blabbered. Much to Inuyasha's annoyance.

"Well, the fact, that there were no soul stealer here and there is nothing but the forest scent on me you should know;-"

"Don't lie to us Inuyasha!" Sango interrupted "You were with her, right? Why do you keep hurting Kagome so much? Does she mean nothing to you?" Inuyasha was shocked. They really believed that he would lie to them? He hadn't seen Kikyo for over two months! Hadn't he proven, that he wouldn't lie to them often enough? Inuyasha risked his life for them more than he could count and they still didn't trust him? He went silent for a moment. Ears slightly pressed against the back of his head. Bangs covering his eyes... hiding the look of hurt in them.

"Do you really trust me so little?" he whispered. Just loud enough for them to hear it. Without waiting for an answer, Inuyasha stormed out of the hut. He should have known. They wouldn't listen. They never did. He shook his head, trying to get those thoughts out of it. Kagome should come back this evening. Better cool off a little before going to the well. But not too long... She might make a scene again if he wasn't at the well when she came.

Kaede's hut

"Don't you think you went a little too far, Sango? He really looked hurt." Miroku said. He got a quick glimpse in Inuaysha's eyes and he could have sworn that there was something wrong.

"Maybe... But what about Kagome? Inuyasha knows how life here in the feudal era is... Kagome not. Hell, in her time she is still considered a child! She is much more sensible than him..."

"Still... we should apologize to him later. And actually, I don't think he was with Kikyo. I mean, he had a point that there were no soul stealers there." Sango mouth opened and she looked like she was going to protest. But then it closed and she nodded.

_'Why do I have the feeling, that we won't have the chance to do so?' _Sango thought...

At the well

Just as Inuyasha stepped into the clearing, a familiar light came out of the well and Kagomes voice, loud as ever, could be heard.

"Inuyasha? Are you there? Come on and help me up!"

"I can hear you... No need for screaming..." Inuyasha called back.

"Well, hurry up!"

"Whatever..." He reached the well and looked down. And again she had her so called bicycle with her... Why did she need this? He grabbed Kagome first and hosted her up. Then the bicycle.

"Hey Inuyasha? How come you didn't come to get me? You look kinda depressed." Inuyasha looked up. Was she really asking what's wrong with him? Shouldn't she know? As he mustered her face, he could see anger flashing through her eyes. He should have known... Inuyasha thought a little before answering.

"I needed time for myself. Why are you complaining anyways? You're the one who told me to stay here and wait for you."

"No I didn't!"

Yes, you-" Inuyasha started but was interrupted by Kagome who obviously didn't want to hear him and started ranting about how he should have come to get her and help her with the heavy bag and bicycle. It began to annoy Inuyasha. He asked himself how he could even stick up with her all the time until now and if it would be better to just grab her, throw her back into the well and seal it behind her. Kagome still didn't notice that Inyuasha ignored her and just waited for her to finish and cool down so they could go to the village. But that never crossed Kagomes mind as she went on until Inuyasha had enough.

"Would you PLEASE shut your trap?! I'm not your pet that comes to you whenever you call. Neither can you expect from me to come for you after you SAT me and insulted me after wards! I, even if not willingly, let you go back home so you could do that test of yours and spend some time with your family. So let me have some time for myself!"

"I don't believe you! You never went to think before! Okay, I insulted you and I'm sorry about tha-"

"You are NOT! You are a selfish and immature little brat that doesn't care about the people around her! All you want is to have all things your way and because that's not possible you try to control me with that damn rosary of yours!" Kagomes face was red with anger by now...

"You're just jealous because they don't give any attention to you and back me up. They know I'm right!"

"Jealous? I lived most of my life alone and I was grateful when someone would just ignore me instead of beating me. What gives you the right to say those things of me? " Kagomes eyes widened. She didn't know this. Sure, she did knew that the life of a hanyou wasn't really easy. But wherever they were, people would just ignore him or sent disgusting looks at him and the group. But she never thought that people would beat him...

"I-Inuyasha... You never told me-"

"Told you what? That I had no family except for my mother? That I feared that every day could be my last one?"

"..."

"I'm sick of you and the rest treating me like a dog or how you put it, a mutt!" Kagome flinched. She really didn't think what she was saying back then.

"How would you feel if you're pulled face first into the ground? And to know that every time you go out for the night, nobody believes you when you say the truth about where you were? You all call me selfish just because you THINK I went to see Kikyo and that I would hurt your feelings?"

At the last few words the volume of his voice dropped down to a whisper...

"But..." Inuyasha looked at her. Kagome could clearly see the hurt in his eyes.

"What about my feelings? You know, for me, it never felt like 50 years. The time I was pinned to the tree merely felt like a few seconds. The betrayal was fresh for me. I was still hurt and angry that the first human I trusted since my mothers' death betrayed me. I was wrong when I thought you were different than the other humans I met." Kagome was shocked about what she heard. She never saw the whole thing from his perspective. Inuyasha stared at the ground for a while. Then he looked straight in her eyes again. This time this time, rage could be seen in his.

"I won't let you threaten me like that anymore. " He said with venom in his voice. With that said, Inuyasha turned around and jumped into the darkness of the forest. Leaving a dumbstruck Kagome alone at the well.

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Well, first chapter finished. Hope you liked it. I already started writing on chapter two.


	3. Chapter 2

Chapter two – The meeting

Inuyasha ran through the forest. Not caring to look back. He was filled with anger and sadness. It felt good to let it out. All the things he wanted to say for so long. Though the anger didn't vanish. When he finally stopped, the moon was already high over the horizon. Its shine somehow felt gentle. He relaxed a bit. Inuyasha loved the moon. His mother used to sit with him all night long just watching it. Sometimes she even sang a lullaby. Her voice was that of an angel back then. Inuyasha looked at it a little longer and tried to remember the lullaby. 50 years being put to sleep had taken its toll on him and his memories. There were some gaps in it. Trying to remember just made his head hurt. But sometimes he would get some sort of flashback where a little girl, probably not older than nine years old, and a younger version of himself were having fun together. He could always see the face of her. But never could he hear her name. Inuyasha needed to find out, who the girl was. If she was still alive. He would have started long ago trying to find her. Well, might as well do something else than just shard hunting once in a while. He knew it was important. But the group, or rather Kagome, didn't want to have him with them at the moment. And Naraku wasn't near either. Well, good for him. There was just one single problem. Where should he start? Maybe to his home village? If it still existed. Not that he cared since most of his memories of that place were bad ones. Still, when he was chased away there were demons everywhere. It was pure luck that he could get away without being seen. It wouldn't be much of a surprise if the demons destroyed it. Oh well, it really didn't matter either way.

Later that day...

Inuyasha was frustrated. He knew the way to the village. He really did! But somehow he still managed to get lost within this stupid forest. Even with his good smell. He knew he should have stayed on the main road... Inuyasha looked around once more... and decided to give up for the day. It was getting dark and he really needed some sleep. Inuyasha jumped up into the branches of the nearest tree and once he found a comfortable position he fell asleep. Unknown to him, a young looking woman stepped out of her hiding place. Long brown hair was tied up into a ponytail that still reached the middle of her back. Two fluffy cat ears were on top of her head and a long tail swishing behind her. She wore a short green kimono that stopped just over her knees with black pants under it. Two Katanas hung on either side of her waist. She looked up to Inuyasha and shook her head disapprovingly.

'Typical... Sleeping in a tree in the middle of nowhere without a care in the world. The perfect prey for a hungry demon... Should I wake him? No, he really looked tired. Let him sleep a little bit more and then give him an good beating for doing that... ' She watched him a little longer. Shaking her head once again the woman turned around, sliding back into the shadows of the night.

The next morning...

The first thing Inuyasha noticed... something was blocking the sun. He thought that it was just a branch of the tree he was sleeping in. But the shadow started to move. It got bigger. He waited just a little while. Trying to find out what it was. A familiar smell was blown into his nose. It smelled like lilies and... cat. His sleepy mind couldn't process the information given to it quick enough as he felt something hit his head. Hard. Inuyasha's eyes flew wide open as he fell down to the ground.

"WHAT THE HELL?!" , he shouted as he stood up. All his senses now alerted. Expecting a demon or some sort of evil monster trying to eat him. The answer he got was not what he expected. Giggling. He looked up to the branch he was just lying on moments ago. A woman stood there. An evil grin plastered on her face. Her fist was raised. But the thing that caught his attention were the ears on top of her head. The face was familiar. Just like her smell. Did he meet her before? It wasn't long before he shoved the thoughts away. And his old hotheaded self surfaced again.

"Hey, what gives?! Who are you to just hit me while sleeping?! You wanna fight? Fine, come here so I can kick your ass!" Inuyasha shouted while drawing tetsusaiga. The woman just stared. She jumped down and calmly walked over to him. Just when she stood right before him, her hand shot forward and grabbed him by the haori.

"You ask why I hit you? Are you stupid or something? Sleeping in the middle of a forest at night just asking to get eaten by some demon who happens to walk by. Come on Inuyasha, I thought you were smarter than that." She said in a dangerous low tone which made Inuyasha almost shiver. If it weren't for one fact.

"How do you know my name?" The girls crystal blue eyes lit up in confusion. She stared at him for a while before letting go of his haori.

"What do you mean? We've known each other for ages. Don't you recognize me? Ayumi. Your best friend for over two hundred years?" Inuyasha just stared. She was familiar. In fact if he took a closer look, the woman looked a lot like the little girl of his damaged memories. His eyes widened in realization. In front of him stood the little girl. The same little girl who smiled so warmly at him back then. The same little girl who had now a hurt look in her eyes. He found her. Or rather, she found him. Inuyasha hesitated. He didn't know how to react. Fortunately, she chose to speak first.

"So you don't remember me? Don't I look familiar to you? Not just a little bit?" she asked him.

"I... I'm sorry. I... do remember you. Sort of."

"What you mean by that?" Should he trust her? This Ayumi didn't seem like a bad person. Well, what could possibly go wrong?

"Let me explain it to you. Since you obviously know me, I don't have to go into detail very much. Well, I just start with this. I remember you. Well, not you personally. But your face. I... I got pinned to a tree for over 50 years by a miko. Unfortunately her sealing arrow seemingly destroyed some of my memory. Nothing much. Just little parts... and... just what are you doing?" While Inuyasha tried to explain Ayumi rapidly came closer. For every step she took forward, he took one back. It looked like she studied him. Soon he bumped into a tree. She also stopped. Then, she started laughing. Something Inuyasha wouldn't tolerate.

"What the hell is so funny?" She laughed a little longer before she managed to get her former posture back. But unlike before she had a childlike smile plastered on her face. Inuyasha glared at her before she spoke again.

"You know, don't do that. It doesn't suit you. You trying to explain something just is so unlike you. Just be you hot-tempered old self. 'kay?" He just stared. Anger fading away slowly.

"Well then, let me get this straight... You were pinned to some tree by a miko... this caused you to lose bits of your memory... and because of this you just could remember my face and nothing more. Right?"

"Yeah.."

"Well, let's start this again. My name is Ayumi and we know each other since our childhood. We met each other in a forest similar to this one and soon became friends and not just because we are both hanyou." she explained to him with a wide smile.

"You're a hanyou?" Mentally slapping himself for that stupid question. Ayumi didn't seem to mind though. She just gave him a look that said "Really?"

"Soo... what were you doing here actually?" She asked

"Uhm. I wanted to head back to my home village. You know, to see if I can somehow regain my memories... And.. well"

"You got lost... Actually, I didn't expect you to get lost. But, you were away from that place for over a hundred years. And with that crappy memory of yours I should have known it would happen..."

"Hey! It wasn't like that"

"You sure you want to go there?" She asked ignoring him

"Yes"

"I know the way then. Just Follow me." With that Ayumi started to walk away. In the same direction he came from the day before. Inuyasha hesitated for a moment deliberating with himself wether to follow her or not. Seeing that he actually had no real choice he gave a defeated sigh before finally following her.

Ayumi POV.

Ayumi was worried. When she first spotted Inuyasha at some village far away from here she thought that her eyes betrayed her. But the hope of finally finding him after all this time again urged her to follow him to see if it was really Inuyasha. She followed him for some days. Ayumi found herself wondering why her little Yasha would hang out with a bunch of humans after all they had done to him. She saw how he traveled with a group of three humans, two of them with high spiritual powers, a demon slayer and a little fox demon. She also saw how he was treated sometimes. The annoying little miko with her rantings about Inuyasha lied to her or how mean he was to her. Ayumi had to hold herself back at those time to not rip the brats throat out. One of the things that hindered her was that Inuyasha seemed to like that gril. However, every time he said something bad in the opinion of that annoying miko she said something that pulled Inyuasha to the ground. So hard that it even left a crater in his shape in the ground. Nobody noticed the hurt in his eyes as they just walked away from him, leaving him in pain on the cold ground. Ayumi couldn't believe that her little Yasha still traveled with these people. Why didn't he just dump them. They did nothing to deserve his loyalty. She really had a hard time holding herself back. But she knew better than to just jump out and face a group with some three obvious strong warriors (Even is she wasn't so sure about the miko). And then, just the day Ayumi decided to show herself, the miko and Inuyasha got into a fight which hurt him more than anything. She wanted nothing more than to kill the whole bunch of them. If it wasn't for her worry that Inuyasha might hurt himself in the state he was in, she would probably have done it. It was quite a shock to find out that he didn't remember her after wards. It tore at her heart but Ayumi knew she couldn't go hysteric. Or scream at him to remember. She knew from experience that it could take weeks if not years to regain a lost memory. Sometimes it wouldn't come back at all. It hurt to know that there was a possibility for him to never remember her. But she kept her emotions locked away on that matter. She learned a long time ago to never show her emotions to people you could not trust. They could use them against you. But sometimes it was better to not show emotions so that others wouldn't have to worry. Ayumi would just have to hope that Inuyasha would regain his memories soon. Until then she would protect him. Like she did back when they were just little children. She smiled at the thought. Back then Inuyasha was a real crybaby. Scared of everything and everyone. Yes, she would definitely protect him and she would never let him get hurt by some humans again. Her little adoptive brother. Her little Yasha.

Inuyasha POV

Inuyasha didn't know what to think. Sure, it was great to finally meet Ayumi again. Even if he didn't know much of her. She kind of reminded him of Kagome. Before he could stop himself Inuyasha found himself wondering what the others were doing. Were they looking for him? Probably not. What reasons would they have? Still, Kagomes expression was stuck in his head. It looked hurt, sad and it made him feeling guilty for screaming at her like this. Maybe he should go back and apologize? No, first it would be like a fatal blow to his pride and second they would just treat him like before. Inuyasha didn't really think they would change their behavior. And the chance would be even lesser if he came crawling back to them. Inuyasha shook his head to get rid of the depressing thoughts and tried to focus on the task at hand. And for a while it would be his first priority. To hell with Naraku. The others could handle him just fine. He was sure Koga would be helping them. Seeing as it was the perfect opportunity to get Kagome without him interfering. Inuyasha felt a slight spark of jealousy running through his heart. Wait, why was he jealous? He didn't even like Kagome anymore. Or did he?

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I'm terribly sorry for the long wait I've put you through. I was really busy with some school stuff. Please, please forgive me! :.( I never thought it would take so long to write this one single chapter. You see, I'm in my last year at school and currently I'm learning for my final exam and other tests my teachers throw at us. I really try my best with the next chapter and hopefully it will be uploaded in the next week. Again, I'm really Sorry.

Still, hope you enjoyed reading. See ya! :)


	4. Chapter 3

**Hello everyone, I'm back with yet another chapter for this story. And again I have to apologize for the long wait. But as I said this is my final year at school and the final exams are coming up so please don't be mad at me. T.T**

**Well, I hope that you enjoy this chapter although I think Inuyasha might be a bit OCC.**

* * *

**Chapter three – Green Flames and Freedom**

To say that Ayumi was pissed was an understatement. No, she was pissed beyond believe! You would think that one couldn't get lost so easy if there was a road to follow, right? Well, think again... Of all the people she knew only Inuyasha could possibly manage to do something like that. But then again, maybe he was distracted by something or thought it would be a good idea to use an shortcut even though he hadn't been in this area for years. Still, his excellent nose should have shown him the right way back. Oh well, so much for being part dog demon. And despite all this she really couldn't bring herself to be mad or angry at him. Not after she found him after so long. When they finally found their way of the forest the sun already started to set but it was still bright enough to walk down the road for while without fearing that some random demon showed up. They were walking in silence and the noise of the surrounding forest slowly ceased. It wasn't long until the first demon could be heard. Ayumi sighed and looked up to the sky. The last rays of the sun disappeared behind the horizon, bathing the trees in orange light. It almost seemed as if the forest was on fire.

"It's getting dark. We should stop for today." she said after a few moments, startling Inuyasha, who was deep in thought until now. He looked around, trying to find something familiar withing his surroundings.

"Where are we?" this question was rewarded with a painful fist to his head...

"Argh! What the hell was that for?!" he shouted and turned to Ayumi who still had her fist raised.

"Well, it's no wonder that you got lost! You should rather concentrate on your way than on other things. And to ask your question, we're one day walk away from your old home village."

"Oh." was his intelligent answer. His anger quickly faded away as he took in their surroundings once more.

"I agree with you. We should stop then for today. Well, I get some firewood." He turned heading back into the look of annoyance from Ayumi's expression turned into one of guilt when she saw the growing bump she left behind on his head.

"Inuyasha." she called and waited for him to face her "Sorry I hit you. I know you have a lot on your mind." He just gave her a small smirk.

"It's alright. I'm already used to it." And with that he disappeared in the darkness of the forest. But Ayumi wasn't happier. He shouldn't be used to something like that. Another wave of guilt hit her. She should have tried harder to find him. Or better yet, tried harder to get the others to allow her to leave on her own for a while. Because of that she allowed his already cracked heart to be broken. And not just once but twice! She let him suffer all these years even though she vowed to protect him and never leave his side back when they were children. It was her fault for leaving him alone. What kind of sister was she when she couldn't even stay by his side. If she had the right to call herself his sister anymore. She doubted it. She broke their promise and that led him to be used by two women who were able to see through the mask he put on. At that thought anger started to rise withing her. Those two dared to use Inuyasha and then stab him in the back when they lured him to safety.

_'Damn that dumb miko!'_ she thought angrily before starting to set up the camp for tonight.

* * *

Both were sitting in silence around a crackling fire in a small concealed clearing. Some fish they had caught earlier in a nearby river hung above the fire on a wooden stick. The night was quiet. Not even demons could be heard. The bright moon was hidden behind leaves and just a few rays of light shone into the clearing. Inuyasha let his thoughts drift as he stared into the fire. This whole situation was awkward. There sitting next to him was the one girl he saw in his damaged memory for a while. For one he was surprised - and somehow relieved and kind of happy - that Ayumi came back into his life just as he started to remember her face and all. It was like his instincts were trying to tell him that she was there. Or that she was coming. But then again... It was just weird. Also, another question came to his mind. Why did she come now? Why not much earlier? They knew each other for so long now but all this time she wasn't there. What could have happened back then when they were children that she didn't come for him sooner? All of this just didn't make any sense. Hopefully he would find the answer soon.

"Does your head still hurt?" Ayumi's voice startled him out of his thoughts. He looked at her questioningly.

"I hit you earlier, didn't I? I asked if it still hurt?"

"Keh! As if you could hurt me!" Inuyasha replied turning away from her.

"I can still see the bump~! Come here, let me nurse it."

"I don't need it. It's just a bump."

"I don't care. I am responsible for it and because of that I will make it go away." Inuyasha turned back to Ayumi to refuse her help but stopped when he saw guilt in her eyes.

"Fine..." he said after a while, "But really, I already said that I'm used to it. Don't feel bad about it."

Ayumi just smiled about it and put one of her hands a few inches above the bump. A few seconds later her hand began to glow green and green flames started to surround it. A warm sensation run thought Inuyasha's body. It was as if he was enveloped by the warmth of the sun. Like a blanket that he could snuggle in and never come out. But this moment didn't last long as the bump disappeared.

"What was that?" he asked Ayumi while he rubbed the back of his head where the bump was a few seconds ago. Ayumi just smiled. Like always.

"That was one of my abilities. It heals almost every kind of injury."

"Are you some kind of healer or something?"

"Ah... yes. My sensei taught me how to use it that way. But I really don't know what it actually is or were I have it from. I can also use the flames as some kind of weapon. It's still just fire even though it can heal." she explained. Inuyasha looked thoughtful for a moment before something clicked in his mind. That fire was similar to Shippo's fox fire. Except that his was blue.

"It kind of reminds me of the fox fire that fox demons use."

"Well, maybe it's another form of it. Just for cat demons." She smiled again but this time with her ears twitching. He smirked at that. But soon he looked at the ground, his espression turning serious again.

"You know" he began "I wanted to ask you something. When or better why were we seperated? I mean, from what I've seen it just doesn't seem right for either of us to leave the other behind." When he looked up again, Ayumi's eyes widened a bit and hurt and shame filled them before she couldn't look at him anymore and turned away. Now it was Inuyasha's turn to feel guilty and he mentally slapped himself. Why did he ask such a stupid question?!

"Ah... Sorry. I shouldn't have asked. If you don't want to,-"

"It's alright. You have all right in the world to ask. It's just..." her voice broke before she could finish her sentence.

"You don't have to tell me." He would not push her to say something she didn't want to talk about. Which she really didn't.

"Don't apologize. It doesn't suit you. Don't worry. It hurts to think about it and I don't think that I can talk about it just yet, but I will tell you. You deserve to know."

"Thanks."

For a few minutes they sat in an uncomfortable silence. Before a loud growling noise broke through it. Inuyasha turned to Ayumi to see her blushing with her hands over her stomach.

"hehe... guess I'm more hungry than I thought." she nervously whispered. Inuyasha smirked.

"Seems like it. Especially because we're having fish, eh?"

"Just because I'm part cat doesn't mean that I like fish!"

_groooowwwl..._

"Well... not that much..." she mumbled, embarrassed at her traitorous body's actions.

Inuyasha snickered and grabbed two fish which were finished and handed one to her. His amusement grew when he saw her eating it like there was no tomorrow. He watched her for a while before she noticed his stare and turned away. He just chuckled and took a bite of his own food.

When they were finished they put out the fire and laid against a tree. However, before sleep could claim Inuyasha, Ayumi grabbed the rosary around his neck. He flinched automatically at its movement.

"Is that the thing the _miko_ used to hurt you?" she asked, eyes narrowed and the word "miko" spat with venom in her voice. He looked at her, confused as to why she knew of Kagome and what she did.

"Did you spy on me before we met?" he asked and got his answer when Ayumi's face turned into one that said: _'Oh shit!'_

"...Yes." she admitted in a small voice. "I wasn't sure if it really was you on the beginning... But back to my question, is this the thing she slammed you into the ground with?"

"Yes." She then took it in both hands and tried to pull it off. But just like every time Inuyasha tried that, it only got to his chin before glowing pink and stopping short.

"It's no use. I tried that already. Only Kagome can take it off."

"Well, then let's see how strong her spiritual power is compared to my flames." With that her hands were surrounded by her green flames again and she started tucking on it." Inuyasha looked at the rosary as it started to glow and sparks flew of. After some time when still nothing changed he decided he had enough and put his hands on her shoulders to gently push her away before she could hurt herself.

"Stop it, it won't come off no matter how hard you try." but Ayumi wasn't willing to give up so easily. And then all of a sudden the glow around the rosary flickered and slowly the pink turned into green and with a final snap the string was cut with the beads flying everywhere. He stared in shock at the beads, then at Ayumi, who was just wiping sweat from her forehead before giving him a small smile.

"Looks like she isn't as strong as she thought she was. Now she has no power over you anymore."

Inuyasha didn't know what to say. He wanted to say at least "Thank you" but all that came out of his mouth were stutters and some incomplete or half-formed words. At the end his mouth just hung open. Ayumi giggled at this and closed the mouth.

"Well, don't you think we should go to sleep now? We still have a whole day to walk and just because we don't need as much as sleep as humans doesn't mean we won't get tired. Good night, Yasha.."

With that she jumped up the tree and almost completely disappeared between the leaves with her green colored kimono. And after a few seconds he followed.

* * *

**And that's it! Hope you liked it. **

******Hopefully the next chapter will be up sooner than this but I better not make any promises.**


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